History of Macy's Thanksgiving parade balloons

Updated 1:39 PM ET, Thu November 28, 2013

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Photos:History of Thanksgiving parade balloons

Finn & Jake: 2013 – The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, as much a holiday tradition as turkey, football and dinner table debates, celebrates its 87th anniversary with a host of new floats and balloons that will begin to make their way down New York City streets Thanksgiving morning. Finn & Jake from the popular Cartoon Network show "Adventure Time" will appear this year. The balloon is three stories tall and requires 90 balloon handlers. Take a look back at the other star-studded balloons that have included more than 100 of the worlds most famous characters.

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Photos:History of Thanksgiving parade balloons

Felix the Cat: 1927 – While the first Macy's Day Parade took place on Christmas of 1924, the first giant balloon to debut in the parade wasn't until 1927 with Felix the Cat. Before the balloons organizers would use animals from the Central Park Zoo.

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Photos:History of Thanksgiving parade balloons

Dog: 1929 – In 1929, the balloons became equipped with safety valves to allow helium to slowly seep out, allowing the balloons to be released into the air at the end of the parade. The balloons would have return address labels attached so if any viewers were lucky enough to find the balloons they would get a special gift from Macy's

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Photos:History of Thanksgiving parade balloons

Mickey Mouse: 1934 – Macy's designers collaborated with Walt Disney to produce the first Mickey Mouse balloon to debut in the parade in 1934. Throughout the years Macy's has produced four more versions of the famous mouse, with a more updated look in 1977, Bandleader Mickey in 2000 and Sailor Mickey in 2009.

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Photos:History of Thanksgiving parade balloons

Officer SOS 13: 1937 – The police have always been associated with the parade, whether they are patrolling the streets or they are a balloon. "Officer SOS 13" debuted in 1937 and was an amazingly huge representation of the dedication of law enforcement officials.

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Photos:History of Thanksgiving parade balloons

Superman: 1939 – "Its a bird! Its a plane!" No, its a typical joke that is associated with the helium inflated Superman balloon that debuted in 1939. The Man of Rubber has graced the parade with three different versions of himself, also in 1966 and in 1980. The third version of himself is the largest balloon ever to appear in the history of the Macy's Parade, at 104 feet long.

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Eddie Cantor: 1940 – Eddie who? Eddie Cantor, the "Banjo Eyes" song and dance man who had already peaked in popularity before he floated down Broadway. He is known for songs like "Makin' Whoopee," and being only the second balloon in the parade to be based on a living person. After, of course, The Marx Brothers. Cantor's balloon doesn't appear in the parade anymore, and neither do other balloons based on real people.

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Uncle Sam: 1940 – A parade wouldn't be the same without good ole' Uncle Sam bouncing around in the wind in 1940. Two years later, Macy's brought the parade to a halt for the first time. World War II had started and due to rubber and helium shortages, balloons were deflated and donated to the government, providing 650 pounds of scrap rubber for the war effort. The parade came back in full swing in 1945 with a record-breaking 2 million spectators lining the streets.

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Photos:History of Thanksgiving parade balloons

Elf gnome: 1947 – An elf gnome smiles at the camera in 1947. Hurray! The parade went live for the first time locally in 1946 and nationally in 1947. It first appeared on CBS, but NBC has been the official broadcaster since the 1950s. There have been a variety of hosts for NBC's coverage of the parade, including "Bonanza" star Lorne Greene, Betty White, Ed McMahon, Bryant Gumbel, "Today" host Willard Scott, Wheat Thins spokesperson Sandy Duncan, Katie Couric, "Today" anchors Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry, Matt Lauer and weatherman Al Roker.

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Mighty Mouse: 1951 – Mighty Mouse soars above the crowd as he hogs the spotlight in his 1951 balloon debut.

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Popeye: 1957 – Popeye's first balloon debut was marked by rainy weather in 1957. That ol' spinach-eating sailor was constructed with an indentation on the top of his hat. During the parade, the downpour filled his cap with gallons of water and caused him to veer over the crowd, where he dumped cold water all over the surprised spectators.

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Photos:History of Thanksgiving parade balloons

Donald Duck: 1962 – Donald Duck makes his second appearance in 1962.

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Photos:History of Thanksgiving parade balloons

Sinclair Oil Dinosaur: 1963 – The Sinclair Oil Dinosaur balloon looks like it is diving toward the crowd during its debut in 1963.

Aviator Snoopy: 1968 – While a Kilgore, Texas, band struts its stuff, the character with the most balloons in history follows behind. Seven different versions of the Snoopy character have appeared in the parade, the first being Aviator Snoopy in 1968. Astronaut Snoopy appeared in 1972 (a tribute to Apollo 11), Skating Snoopy in 1987, Snoopy with Woodstock in 1988, Millennium Snoopy in 1999, Flying Ace Snoopy in 2006, and the seventh one will appear in the 2013 parade. He not only has the most balloons in history, he also has appeared in 32 parades, more than any other character.

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Kermit the Frog: 1977 – A Muppet Show photo ad promotes the launch of the Kermit the Frog balloon for the 1977 parade. After a few mishaps in the 80s and 90s, Kermit went on a 11-year hiatus until 2002.

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Woody Woodpecker: 1982 – The Woody Woodpecker balloon makes its first appearance during the 1982 parade. This was the first year since 1927 that the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Akron, Ohio, did not make the balloons for the parade. During 1981 to 1982 the Bob Kemp of Kemp Balloons was assigned the task of producing and maintaining the balloons, thus the Olive Oyl, Woody Woodpecker and Yogi Bear balloons were born.

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Garfield: 1984 – Garfield's grin keeps getting wider as technicians pump helium into the big balloon at 77th Street and Central Park West. Garfield was one of a group of cartoon characters being readied for the 58th annual parade in 1984.

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Woodstock: 1988 – A large crowd got an advance look at the new character, Woodstock, who sashayed through midtown in the 62nd Macy's parade.

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Bugs Bunny: 1989 – Bugs Bunny levitates over the Great Lawn in Central Park. The big balloon was given a trial run before it's debut at the Macy's Parade in 1989.

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Bart Simpson: 1990 – "Cowabunga!" Bart Simpson skateboards down Broadway, making his debut in 1990. In 1993 "El Barto" split his seams due to the extremely windy conditions.

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Izzy the 1996 Atlanta Olympics mascot: 1993 – Izzy, the mascot for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, got his day in the sky in the 1995 parade, carrying the Olympic torch.

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Blues Clues: 1999 – Blue from "Blues Clues" rides high above the marchers in the 73rd parade in 1999.

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Ask Jeeves: 2000 – The Ask Jeeves balloon casts a reflection in a Times Square window during the 74th annual parade. Jeeves was the mascot for the search engine Ask.com, then known as "AskJeeves" that launched in 1997.

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Pikachu: 2001 – "Pikachu, I choose you" to float over New York in its first appearance in the Macy's parade in 2001. The loveable Pokemon wasn't the only balloon to debut that year. Curious George, Big Bird, Jimmy Neutron and Cheesasaurus Rex glided their way above the crowds.

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SpongeBob SquarePants: 2004 – Everybody's favorite sponge, SpongeBob Squarepants, left his pineapple home in the sea to attend his first Macy's parade in 2004.

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Scooby Doo: 2005 – The Scooby-Doo balloon hangs over Central Park West as it is pulled through the parade in 2005.

Pillsbury Doughboy: 2009 – The Pillsbury Doughboy balloon hovers over Manhattan highrises during the 83rd parade. The 2009 parade route changed for the sixth time in parade history, and it was the first time it did not travel through Broadway on it's way to Macy's flagship store on 34th Street.

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Tim Burton's "B": 2011 – "B," designed by Tim Burton, floats during its first appearance in the Macy's Parade in 2011.

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Elf on the Shelf: 2012 – The Macy's parade reveals its star elf, the Elf on the Shelf, which was created by Keith Lapinig of Queens, New York, for the Nationwide Contest to Design an Elf Balloon for the 85th Anniversary of the Macy's parade in 2012. Following approximately 1,000 entries on Macy's Facebook page, the general public voted for their favorite out of 85 best submissions.

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Toothless from "How to train your dragon": 2013 – Also brand new to the scene, Toothless from "How to Train Your Dragon" will debut in the 2013 parade. Toothless is four stories tall, as long as 12 bicycles, as wide as seven taxi cabs and requires 90 handlers.